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The Guardian view on 80 years of public funding for the arts: more vital than ever | Editorial
Arts Council England has been much criticised in recent years. A new chair offers hope for a weary cultural sector “I do not believe it is yet realised what an important thing has happened,” the economist John Maynard Keynes wrote in The Listener in July 1945 . “Patronage of the arts has crept in. It has happened in a very English, informal, unostentatious way – half baked if you like.” He was referring to the wartime Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (Cema), which would become the Arts Council of Great Britain. Keynes died a few months before it was granted a royal charter on 9 August 1946. A body to secure and distribute government cultural investment was created – an important thing, indeed. The Arts Council initially funded 46 institutions , including the Royal Opera House and Bristol Old Vic , the first publicly funded regional theatre in the UK. Over eight decades
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Arts Council England has been much criticised in recent years. A new chair offers hope for a weary cultural sector “I do not believe it is yet realised what an important thing has happened,” the economist John Maynard Keynes wrote in The Listener in July 1945 . “Patronage of the arts has crept in. It has happened in a very English, informal, unostentatious way – half baked if you like.” He was referring to the wartime Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (Cema), which would become the Arts Council of Great Britain. Keynes died a few months before it was granted a royal charter on 9 August 1946. A body to secure and distribute government cultural investment was created – an important thing, indeed. The Arts Council initially funded 46 institutions , including the Royal Opera House and Bristol Old Vic , the first publicly funded regional theatre in the UK. Over eight decades
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According to The Guardian’s linked report, The Guardian view on 80 years of public funding for the arts: more vital than ever | Editorial, Arts Council England has been much criticised in recent years. A new chair offers hope for a weary cultural sector “I do not believe it is yet realised what an important thing has happened,” the economist John Maynard Keynes wrote in The Listener in July 1945 . “Patronage of the arts has crept in. It has happened in a very English, informal, unostentatious way – half baked if you like.” He was referring to the wartime Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (Cema), which would become the Arts Council of Great Britain. Keynes died a few months before it was granted a royal charter on 9 August 1946. A body to secure and distribute government cultural investment was created – an important thing, indeed. The Arts Council initially funded 46 institutions , including the Royal Opera House and Bristol Old Vic , the first publicly funded regional theatre in the UK. Over eight decades
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The development sits in VINI’s Culture coverage for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The linked report is dated 2026-08-04T17:25:06+00:00.
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Primary source: The Guardian view on 80 years of public funding for the arts: more vital than ever | Editorial via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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- The Guardian view on 80 years of public funding for the arts: more vital than ever | EditorialThe Guardian - 2026-08-04T17:25:06+00:00
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